OAKLAND — A Pacheco man arrested and charged earlier this year with meth trafficking will serve a little more than six and a half years in federal prison, according to court records.

Adam Gardner, 41, was charged in April with possessing a quarter-pound of methamphetamine, and eventually pleaded guilty to a possession charge. Federal prosecutors asked for a longer sentence of 10 years and two months.

Gardner wrote an apology letter to the judge, acknowledging he had made mistakes and adding “I have no right to ask for leniency.” He wrote that after losing his job, badly hurting his foot and going through stressful times including loved ones having serious medical issues, “I sought release in the substances I knew would quiet the voices of despair that screamed in my head.”

Gardner has prior convictions for drug-related offenses, but no violence on his record. Several people wrote letters of support on his behalf. His attorney wrote that he had been a gifted student as a teen, but fell down the wrong path because of a “chaotic” life at home.

As a middle-schooler, Gardner received recognition from the U.S. military in a ceremony, after he stopped a protester at the Concord Naval Weapons Station from burning an American flag, according to a Concord Transcript article from 1991.

At the time, he told a reporter he kicked the protester after the protester began raising a lighter to the flag, and that he was against war but respected the military. The protest was over U.S. involvement in El Salvador, Panama and the Gulf War.

He told the reporter he hoped his high GPA would get him into De La Salle High School, and that he was interested in exploring a career in law enforcement someday. He said his first choice was to become a neurosurgeon.

After serving his prison term, Gardner will be on federal probation for four years, according to court records.

A 35-year-old Vacaville man who police say stole his roommate’s lottery ticket worth a whopping $10 million returned Friday morning to Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield for more legal proceedings.